'Cats' Visual FX Artist Talks "Butthole Cut," Says Production Was "Almost Slavery"

BY Matt BobkinPublished Apr 7, 2020

Though it's only been a few weeks, it feels like Cats came to home release forever ago, which is when the news broke that a visual effects artist was hired to remove CGI buttholes from the anthropomorphic cats. Now, a new interview with one of the film's other VFX artists has revealed more information on the "butthole cut" and the conditions of the film's production.

In a new interview with The Daily Beast, an anonymous VFX artist who worked on the film spoke at length about the buttholes. On the buttholes' origins, the artist said, "There was nobody that said, 'We want buttholes.' It was one of those things that just happened and slipped through."

The existence of the buttholes was reportedly discovered while playing back video clips midway through production. The source recounted, "We went to call our supervisor, and we're like, 'There's a fucking asshole in there! There's buttholes!' It wasn't prominent but you saw it… And you [were] just like, 'What the hell is that?... There's a fucking butthole in there.' It wasn't in your face—but at the same time, too, if you're looking, you'll see it."

In the same interview, the VFX artist called the working conditions "almost slavery," with artists working 90-hour weeks for months, with some artists living out of the production offices for two or three days at a time, sleeping under their desks. The source alleges that the VFX artists were repeatedly insulted by director Tom Hooper.

"When you go into a conference room, you're not allowed to speak," said the interviewed artist. "And he talks to you like you're garbage."

The full interview is available to read via The Daily Beast.

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